1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices, systems, and processes useful for compressing a uterine artery, and more particularly to devices and systems capable of easily locating, compressing, and/or monitoring or characterizing the blood flow through a uterine artery.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
It has been proposed that occlusion of the uterine arteries of a human female patient can kill myomata, i.e., fibroids, because of the relative frailty of the fibroids to anoxia or hypoxia, and the relatively high resistance of uterine tissues to anoxia or hypoxia. See Burbank, Fred, M.D., et al, Uterine Artery Occlusion by Embolization or Surgery for the Treatment of Fibroids: A Unifying Hypothesis-Transient Uterine Ischemia, The Journal of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, November 2000, Vol. 7, No. 4 Supplement, pp. S3-S49. U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,601, to Fred Burbank et al, entitled “Methods for Occlusion of the Uterine Arteries”, describes numerous devices and methods useful for occluding a uterine artery by penetrating the tissue of the patient to access the uterine artery. The devices and methods described in Burbank '601 have been useful in occluding a uterine artery; there have been some difficulties involved with their use.
Specifically, the aligned orientations of the imaging device, e.g., Doppler ultrasound device, and the element which passes through the tissue of the patient to occlude the uterine artery can be, for some patients and for some procedures, difficult to maintain. Additionally, the devices and methods described in the '601 patent do not necessarily take advantage of the structure and symmetry of the female human anatomy to facilitate occlusion of a uterine artery. The devices and methods of the '601 patent also are not well adapted for performing blood flow studies of a uterine artery.
Current devices available for uterine artery identification and characterization include two-dimensional Doppler color flow ultrasound systems with vaginal, abdominal, or intracavity probes. Typical machines are manufactured and distributed by General Electric Medical Systems, Toshiba, Acuson, among other sources.
These machines require an ultrasound technologist to utilize the vaginal probe and position the probe sensor array within the vagina, near the cervix, while looking at the ultrasound machine's display screen, position the probe, and then select an appropriate setting to evaluate blood flow. Currently available devices thus require a high degree of skill to identify and then position the Doppler gate approximately to obtain an optimum signal for characterizing the blood flow. During this time, the probe must be held in as steady a position as possible to eliminate erroneous readings and signals. As will be readily appreciated by those of skill in the art, prior devices are therefore difficult to use successfully.
Current ultrasound machines can provide readings of peak blood velocity, pulsatility and resistive index, once a good Doppler wave form has been recorded. As discussed above, the trouble is in identification of the artery and, once identified, maintaining a good position for obtaining the desired data is difficult. No device which is currently commercially available can be used to simultaneously identify and occlude a uterine artery. Physicians, including gynecologists, have ligated the uterine artery surgically by using metal vascular clips or suture material, access having been achieved by surgical dissection. These surgical procedures have been performed by open abdominal surgery and laparoscopically, and require a great deal of surgical skill to access, identify, dissect, and ligate the uterine artery. This high skill requirement has limited the use of surgical ligation of the uterine arteries as a clinical alternative for treatment of uterine fibroids and other uterine disorders.
Ultrasound devices have been proposed for measuring blood flow in a blood vessel. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,411,028, 5,453,575, 5,535,747, and 5,967,987. Such devices are not well suited for use in measuring and/or monitoring the blood flow in a uterine artery.
Pessaries have been used for many years to treat numerous conditions, such as uterine prolapse, vaginal vault prolapse, urinary incontinence, cystocele, rectocele, enterocele, and some preoperative preparation. Pessaries have been available in numerous configurations, but are generally torus-shaped, somewhat elastic devices.
In an article published in 1964, Bateman reported that uterine artery vessel ligation or division, achieved via intra-abdominal surgery similar to hysterectomy, was effective in treating menorrhagia both with and without myomectomy. Bateman, W., M.D., “Treatment of intractable menorrhagia by bilateral uterine vessel interruption”, 89 Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 825-827 (Harcourt Health Sciences, Jul. 15, 1964). While Bateman reported some success, this procedure involves opening the abdominal cavity, with the known attendant risks and disadvantages.
There therefore remains a need in the art to develop apparatus and methods which further assist a medical practitioner in accessing, occluding, and/or measuring the blood flow characteristics in a uterine artery.